What are the real reasons behind very poor results?

T WHAT point does a series of poor results morph into a mini-crisis?

I guess that would depend on personal opinion, and the views of those on the outside looking in usually differ greatly from those working on the coalface.

As a reporter I can only base my judgement on what I see with my own eyes while attending games. I’m not privy to what goes on behind the scenes in the preparation of our inter-county teams, so I reckon those directly involved will have a different opinion to my own on the performances of three of our under-age sides in recent times.

Everybody has been talking about Davy and the hurlers since that Easter Sunday showdown, so our results in both Leinster Minor championships and the special Under-17 hurling competition haven’t come under the spotlight.

However, I was very disappointed with the performances of all three teams, particularly in an era when we’re constantly told that our coaching systems are in rude good health and the development squads are the way to go in terms of readying players for the bigger battles to come.

Just to re-cap, our Minor hurlers didn’t raise a gallop in a 1-20 to 0-11 loss to Kilkenny in Nowlan Park on Saturday week. Only two days later the Minor footballers were humiliated to the tune of 21 points by Offaly in Bellefield (3-18 to 0-6), and then on Wednesday the Cats inflicted further pain, this time on our Under-17 hurlers in Taghmon by 0-22 to 0-14.

I’m conscious of a couple of things in devoting this column to those very poor results. Firstly, I will never be critical of the collective effort put in by the players whose commitment to the cause at such a young age has to be admired.

Secondly, I’m fully aware that some readers might accuse me of jumping the gun, given that all three teams have the benefit of a second chance to get back into contention.

It’s knockout from this point on, starting tomorrow (Wednesday) when the Under-17 hurlers face Kildare in a quarter-final in Hawkfield, with Dublin awaiting the winners in the event of a Wexford success.

The Minor hurlers will host Offaly in the last eight in Innovate Wexford Park on Saturday, and again the boys in blue will be lying in wait.

Meanwhile, the Minor footballers have been drawn against Wicklow who lost to Longford on Saturday, meaning that all three teams have realistic opportunities to advance.

Therefore, should I hold my fire and see how those games go before commenting? The answer is no as far as I’m concerned, because the back door can also merely postpone the inevitable in terms of potential results down the line.

In short, while all three teams may very well win their next outings, if that happens they will eventually face the prospect of meeting stronger opponents in their quest for Leinster honours.

And purely on the basis of last week’s results and nothing else, they appear ill-equipped to make that leap and improve to the required degree.

The collective losing margin was 41 points, and it left onlookers wondering what exactly is going on behind the scenes?

Are the preparations up to scratch, and if they’re not, who’s going to show the necessary leadership in the corridors of power and lay down the law so that these players get the best possible chance to compete against the leading teams?

That’s the key aspect in all of this, because we have to be realistic and accept that we won’t be strong enough to win titles every single year.

However, we should at the very least have a recognised system in place that everyone buys into to ensure that our teams are not subjected to heavy defeats with such alarming regularity.

I would like nothing more than to see all three teams bounce back and show that we are good enough to have an active interest in the latter stages of all three competitions.

Unfortunately though, it would appear that a lot of pressing issues need to be ironed out far away from the playing fields in order for this to become a reality. There’s no point fielding teams at some levels unless these matters are urgently addressed. TADHG FURLONG has been rewarded for a tremendous season by becoming the first New Ross club player to be honoured by the British and Irish Lions.

It was at Soldier Field in Chicago that Furlong gave out the first hint of becoming a world class tight head prop with an outstanding display in that historic first-ever victory over New Zealand.

This was his most demanding international but he came good on the occasion in that historic 40-29 victory in what many had felt was a mission impossible.

On Wednesday the 24-year-old was named a British and Irish Lion in Warren Gatland’s 41-man squad to tour down under to New Zealand this summer where they will play three demanding test matches against the powerful All Blacks.

Furlong is one of eight of the starting XV who beat the world champions so brilliantly to be named in the squad, which kicks off its ten-match tour in 39 days’ time in Whangarel on the North Island.

Furlong would have ‘thought you were cracked’ if you suggested twelve months ago that he would become a fully-fledged Irish international, let alone gain inclusion in the famous British and Irish Lions squad and don that famous red jersey.

He might have even said the same just a short few months back, but now he becomes the third Wexford player to gain inclusion for the Lions, following in the footstephs of Nick Popplewell and Gordon D’Arcy, two players who also toured down under.

A proud New Ross club member, Tadhg has never forgotten his roots and has been a regular visitor to his home club along with Good Counsel College. Incidentally, had he not made it as a rugby player, Tadhg was quite a capable under-age G.A.A. player with his native Horeswood.

Tadhg is a poster boy for the work being carried out at academy and development squad level with Leinster, having progressed through the provincial clubs set-up.

He started out on a club career with Clontarf, progressing through the provincial and Ireland Under-20 sides before becoming a Senior international player.

Tight head prop was fast becoming a problem area for Ireland, with the experienced Mike Ross heading towards retirement while also becoming injury